Our Last Day At Disneyland...

On our last day at the parks we decided to start at Disneyland since we didn't get to see everything the day before. I really wanted to find Goofy again, I was determined to get a picture with him since I didn't earlier. When we first walked in we saw him. I was so excited! We ended up being the last ones they let in line for a picture. I would've been really mad if we didn't get to have a picture again. Donald Duck was next to him so Josh tried to stand in line and wait until after we got a picture with Goofy, but he was too late, they closed the line. Oh well. Across the way we also saw Chip and Dale, but again we couldn't get in line fast enough. I thought the picture of the boys with Goofy turned out pretty cute.


The first rides the boys did that day were the Tea Cups and the Matterhorn, again! I think they would have been happy just doing those two rides for the rest of the day. After that we went to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. I wasn't going to do it at first but I decided to at the last minute. I probably shouldn't have, it was a little more wild than I thought it would be. Jantzen rode with me and he insisted on being the driver, it was cute how he thought he was the one driving. He was really in to it.


We saw a bunch of the Disney characters around the castle so we went there and watched a show they put on with the Disneyland Band. It was fun but a little hard to see because there was so many people. We had to hold the boys up, which kind of hurt my tummy a little. We had our picture taken in front of the castle which didn't make Jantzen too happy, I think it's because he doesn't like princess'.


We then went back to Adventureland so Josh and Jaron could ride on Indiana Jones. Jantzen unfortunately was too short to ride so we just hung out. While they were on it we decided to check out Tarzans Treehouse. I only made it up a couple flights of stairs when I realized I couldn't go any further. I am so afraid of heights and the rope bridges weren't helping at all so we had to go back down. I told Jantzen he would have to wait for his dad to go up with him. After Josh and Jaron were done they all went up to explore the treehouse together. I'm glad the boys have someone who can take them on things like that.


We did go on Pirates of the Carribbean again and this time we got stuck right as we started. We sat there for about 20 minutes before it kicked up again. Then a little while later it stopped on us again for about another 10-15 minutes. It wouldn't have been too bad if we weren't in the same boat as a bunch of high school kids that kept taking pictures with the flash right in our faces and also were singing dumb songs while stomping their feet. Not to mention the couple sitting behind us were getting so mad that we had to listen to the man complaining, I don't think he knew any other words besides the "f" bomb. Luckily the boys weren't paying attention to him. We moved on to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad where Jaron started having a panic attack because it was a roller coaster. I reminded him that this was my favorite ride when I was little so he went on it and both boys ended up loving it. They, of course, wanted to do it again.


Jaron really wanted to go to Tom Sawyer Island, so we did. It seemed to be more of a pirate island with lots to explore. There was another treehouse for them to climb up and some cage like thing that they loved. Jaron, of course, can't have a serious face in the picture. Josh even got in on the action. One of the last things they did on the island was find the pirate treasure. If you are wondering what Jantzen is doing, he's acting like Captain Feathersword from the Wiggles and saying, "arrr". It was cute. This was like a big playground for the boys and they didn't want to leave.




There was still some things at California Adventure that we wanted to do so we headed back that way when we saw Pluto. Jantzen was really wanting to meet him and luckily we were one of the last ones, again, to get a picture before he had to leave. I think it made Jantzen's day to get to be that close to Pluto. We then saw that the street parade was about to begin so we stayed for that. The boys got to see more Disney characters dancing in front of them. Jantzen even got a high-five from Pluto. I think that was the best day of his life. The regular dancers tried to get Jaron to go out in the street and dance with them, but he wouldn't do it. He's really shy that way. Jantzen got to see Woody and Jessie, but we couldn't get a picture of the boys with them because you have to eat at one of the restaurants in Frontierland to do that. We were going to do it so the boys could meet them until we found out how much it costs. It would have cost us $100 for the four of us to eat lunch just to get a picture. It's wasn't worth it.






We then left Disneyland and went back to California Adventure. This time we went to the Hollywood Studios part. We saw the Muppets 3-D show and did the Turtle Talk with Crush (from Nemo) which was awesome! It was all animated, but Crush was having real conversations with the kids. We went on the Monsters, Inc. ride which was fun, and then explored a bunch more.


After the boys were done looking around we went over to The Hollywood Tower of Terror ride. It's a ride that drops you down really fast. Jantzen was worn out so he didn't want to ride it so it was just Josh and Jaron. I'm such a bad mom, I told Jaron that it's just like the Frog Hopper at the Adventure Dome (I just didn't say that it's a lot higher and faster) and he loves that ride. The whole time we waited for them to get done I was worried that Jaron was going to freak out and get mad at me for kind of lying to him. In the meantime, Jantzen and I played eye-spy and had a fun time doing it. If you guess right he'll say, "ding, ding, a ding", and if you guess wrong he'll make a buzzing noise. He's so funny! When Josh and Jaron got off the ride Jaron came up to me and said, "that was awesome!" I'm so glad he liked it. I tried to get a picture of them in front of the tower acting like they were afraid but it turned out kind of dark.



We decided to go on the Toy Story ride again and the boys were being so cute with their 3-D glasses that I had to get a picute. Jantzen is my cheesiest child, he loves to have his picture taken. On the ride this time I totally beat Josh's score, last time he won, but I was helping Jantzen too. After the ride we got Jantzen a Bullseye (Toy Story horse) and Jaron didn't want anything from there. He just wanted Star Wars stuff, go figure.



Josh tried one more time to convince Jaron to go on the California Screamin' roller coaster, but again Jaron wouldn't budge so Josh ended up going on it by himself. He said it was fun and told Jaron he missed out, Jaron didn't care. We were finally done with rides. It was getting late, again, and we were all tired. I think we had had enough of walking around all day for the last three days. We left California Adventures, but got a few more pictures first.


Before we could leave we had to go back to Disneyland so the boys could get a make-your-own light saber. It was kind of a pain making it because Josh didn't know what he was doing and it was very crowded. Luckily an employee came to help everyone so the line wouldn't be so backed up. Jaron made a Darth Maul and Jantzen a Darth Vader light saber. They were happy with the result and we could finally leave! The fireworks were about to begin, but we were too tired to stay for them again. We told Jantzen to watch them while we walked out since he missed them the night before. It was a pain getting out of the park because it was so crowded, but we eventually made it out alive. Jantzen, of course, had fallen asleep before we made it out so again he missed the fireworks.

We should've gotten a picture of us at the entrance to Disneyland earlier in the day, but we didn't. We got it as we left in the dark so you can't see it that well and Jantzen was asleep.


There are so many more pictures that I took (about 120 total), but I didn't have enough room to post them all. These were the ones I thought were the cutest.

Disneyland Day Two...

On our second day we decided to spend it all at Disneyland since there was more to do there than at California Adventures. We also decided to rent a stroller since the day before Jantzen was getting tired of walking and he was a little slow.

Josh and Jantzen tried to get Jaron to go on the Matterhorn, but he refused to go. Jaron said, "Jantzen is the tough one and I'm the scardy cat". They decided to go on the Tea Cups instead. They made it spin as fast as they could, I thought they were going to get sick on it. They had fun and when they got off both of the boys said, "that was awesome!"


We went on almost every boat ride they had there. Josh got a picture of us going through the Pinnocio whales mouth, which the boys thought was cool. They loved "It's a Small World" boat ride. It had a lot of cool things to look at inside, but after the ride was over Josh and I were really sick of the song.


After that we went to Toontown to see if we could find some Disney characters. We did see Goofy as soon as we got there but when we went to get in line to get a picture they told us he was leaving so we would have to come back later, I was really bummed. The only rides the boys went on in Toontown was the Roger Rabbit and the roller coaster, but again Jaron refused to go on it. He made a big scene and was crying so it was just Josh and Jantzen that went on it. And again Jantzen loved it. He told Jaron he should have gone, but he missed out. The boys found a big cage to play in that they thought was cool. I could use one of those at home for when they are acting out of control.



We then saw a line at Minnie Mouse's house so we headed over so the boys could meet her. Luckily we didn't have to wait very long until it was our turn. After the boys said "hi" we went in her house to check it out. The boys thought the food in the fridge and feezer was cool.



Mickey's house was right next door to Minnie's so we went there after. There was no one in line at his house so we weren't sure if he was there or not, we were hoping. Jantzen really likes to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so I didn't want him to be disappointed if he didn't get to meet him. His house was a lot bigger than Minnie's so there was more to look at. The boys enjoyed looking at everything especially Pluto's things, they both love dogs a lot. We found out that we would have to go through Mickey's house and barn before we could meet him so it took longer than we expected. Finally we made it to Mickey's barn, but again had to wait to see him. They were only letting a few people at a time in so it wouldn't be so crowded. In the meantime we got to watch some old cartoons while we waited. And then it was our turn, Yeah! The boys thought it was so cool to get to meet Mickey Mouse in person. I thought the picture turned out pretty cute.






After we left Toontown we worked some more on Jaron to see if he would go on the Matterhorn yet. He finally said he would go. I really thought he was going to freak out. The boys sat in a seat by themselves and Josh sat behind them. After they got off Jaron said, "That was AWESOME!!" He said he should've gone on it before. Jantzen didn't seem to be afraid of any rides there which was a good thing.


While walking through more of Disneyland we ran into Cruella Deville. I saw only men getting their pictures taken with her so I just had to get a picture of Josh with her. The other guys were just standing next to her but when it was Josh's turn she made him get down on his knees, stick his tongue out and act like a dog. I almost couldn't take the picture I was laughing too much. Everyone around us was laughing too, especially the boys. They thought it was hilarious!


After that, we went into Adventureland where we took the boys to the Tiki Room to see the bird show. They were fascinated by it. Then we saw Aladdin and Jasmine so we got a picture with them. While we were getting in our pose to have the picture taken I did something that I got really embarrassed about. I was standing next to Aladdin and I was putting my arm back behind and accidentally brushed my hand across his tooshie. He just smiled and I said sorry. I felt really dumb.


We went on the Pirates of the Carribean ride that I didn't know before hand that it has a couple drops, but it was still fun. It had some amazing scenes that almost looked real. Then we headed to the Haunted Mansion. I didn't know how the boys would take it but we talked them into it. After the ride was over they both said how much they liked it and wanted to do it again, so we went again because there wasn't a line. While we were waiting Jantzen told me that he wanted to go two more times. Wow! He must have really liked it. This time they both laughed the whole way through. We didn't do it again because we wanted to move on to other things. Right next to it was Splash Mountain. We told Jaron it was just like the Matterhorn so he would go in it. We are so mean, we didn't tell him about the big drop off. He ended up not liking it that much, but Jantzen loved it and wanted to do it again.


All Jaron wanted to do after that was go on the Matterhorn. We told him he would have to wait because it was starting to get late and there was still more to do. I don't remember Disneyland being this big. It was getting close for the fireworks to start so we found a seat and waited for them to start. While we waited the boys, all three, watched Nemo on Josh's Ipod. Not too long after that Jantzen fell asleep, he was really exhausted. We had been there since the park opened and it was almost time for it to close. He missed the fireworks, which was too bad. Tinkerbell was flying across the sky from the Matterhorn to Cinderella's Castle. It was a real person doing it. There's no way I would ever do that, but it was really cool. The fireworks were the best I have ever seen, I wish Jantzen could have seen them, maybe next time. After that we left because we were all exhausted. It was a fun, but very long day.

Day three coming soon to a blog near you...

Our First Day at Disneyland...

We spent the first part of the day in California Adventures. The first ride we went on was "Soaring Over California". I didn't think I would be able to do it at first because my doctor told me I couldn't go on any rides, but I decided I wasn't going to spend my whole vacation watching my boys enjoying everything while I sat with the backpack waiting for them to get done so I did a few rides. I made sure they were ones that wouldn't do any harm to little Jaedyn. Anyway, it was pretty cool! The boys loved it and wanted to do it again, but there was a long line so we said we would try later. We did run into Mater and Lightning McQueen so we had to get a picture. Jantzen was afraid of them at first, but he calmed down pretty quickley.


The next ride we went on was the "Grizzly River Run". It was a water ride and Jaron didn't have fun on it. He said he hates water rides and he got his hair wet. We probably should have done this ride last, but oh well. Jantzen on the other hand absolutely loved it! I got a picture of Josh with his hands up, he said Jantzen was doing that down the hills and then he had to poke out his head so he could see me waiting for them.


We let the boys play in the "Brother Bear" play area which had a lot of rope bridges that I hate. I am terrified of high places but I went on a couple bridges anyway until some little kids behind me started running across them, then I was DONE! I told Josh he would have to take the boys cuz I'm taking the stairs and would wait for them at the bottom.


Josh tried his hardest to convince Jaron to go on the "California Screamin'" with him which is a big roller coaster that has one upside down loop and goes pretty fast. It didn't work, Jaron wasn't convinced that he would like it so we moved on to something else. We ended up going to the "Bugs Life" show. Little did we know it wasn't going to end up being a favorite. It was a 3-D show that had bugs that would come out of holes and squirt things at you. One of the bugs squirted "his" poison at us and we got a real splash of water. Jantzen didn't think that was cool. He started to cry. Then another bug sprayed "bug spray" at us to let us know what it's like when they get sprayed by humans. We got a mist spray that was kind of foggy, again Jantzen started crying and then Jaron joined in with him. Things got worse when the black widows came down from the ceiling. I thought Jaron was going to have a heart attack. We finally got to the end of the show and then our seats started moving underneath us like there was bugs running across our tooshies. The boys had had it by then. We were trying to calm them down and tell them it was fake but that didn't work. Josh and I thought it was a cool show. Maybe when they are older they will enjoy it.


We did a bunch more rides in the Bugs Life area, that I couldn't do, but I got some cute pictures of. We then went to the "Toy Story Mania" ride that we mainly went there for. It was another 3-D ride that you have targets to shoot at while your car spins you a little. I decided I was going to go on this ride. I didn't want to miss out on everything. There was a long line to get on so we got to enjoy some churros while we waited. Jantzen sat with me and Jaron with Josh. That's pretty much how it was the whole time. Jantzen wanted to be my riding buddy the whole time. At the end of the ride like most of them, there was a toy store you had to walk through to get out. The first thing Jantzen saw was a "Spuda Fett" Mr. Potato Head. He just had to have it, he said, so we got it for him. He was so excited! After he got that all he wanted to do was go back to the hotel so he could play with it.


We then went over to Disneyland to spend the rest of the day. The boys ended up riding the "Star Tours" ride first and when they came out Josh said it made him sick. I'm glad I didn't go on it. We then had to get the all three kids their very own pair of Mickey Mouse ears with their names on them. Jaron picked out the regular black ears, Jantzen picked out a Toy Story pair, and Josh picked out a pink princess pair for Jaedyn. Josh decided he was going to wear Jaedyn's ears since she's not here yet. They all looked so cute that I had to get a picture of them together. Isn't Josh adorable in pink (one of his favorite colors).


We then headed to a few more rides including the "Buzz Lightyear" ride, where the boys had a blast! We tried to do the "Autopia", but the cars started breaking down and after a really long wait they closed it down. We went to take the "Disneyland Express" train ride instead. It took us all the way around the park. It was a nice calm ride that made it so we could enjoy seeing all of the park without having to walk it. I got a really cute picture of the boys that I think is one of my favorites from our vacation.



It was getting late and we were all getting tired so the last ride that we got on for the day was the "Nemo" submarine. Jantzen was a little hesitant at first because he didn't know how he felt about going under water. He ended up really liking it. He loves Squirt the turtle from Nemo so he thought it was cool that he got to see him swimming around under water. We did of course have to get a picture of the kids again with their Mickey ears and this time we let Jaedyn kind of sort of wear her hat. I put it on my tummy. The sun was a little bright on us but I think it turned out good other than the fact that Jantzen was being grumpy because he was tired.


Before we could leave the park we had to get the boys a toy to play with. Jaron picked out a Star Wars Trooper gun and Jantzen picked out a Boba Fett stuffed toy. What is it with my boys and Star Wars? I thought it was funny that we were in Disneyland and neither one of them got Disney stuff, they only got Star Wars stuff.

Day two coming soon...

Headed to California...

So I am FINALLY going to write about our vacation to California a couple weeks ago. I was really busy last week so I didn't have time to do it. Here it goes...After much frustration getting the right rental car, we made it to our hotel in Anaheim, right across the street from Disneyland. We were all very excited! It has been two years since we went on a real family vacation and it has been way too many years for me to count since I went to Disneyland for the first time. Our hotel was really nice and we had the pool and hot tub right outside our room, too bad it wasn't quite warm enough to swim and I'm prego so I couldn't sit in the hot tub.

We weren't going to Disneyland our first day so we decided to drive up to Hollywood and see if we could find our way up to the sign to get some pictures. Josh was really lost, but didn't want to stop for directions, typical man, so he just kept driving until we found our way up a narrow hill to the mountains. Turns out it was the road to the sign, but we could only drive up so far. We would've had to hike the rest of the way. If it hadn't been dark we probably would have done it. Instead we kept driving up and saw a bunch of cars so we decided to check it out. It was an observatory so we went in. Jaron had the most fun exploring because it had a lot of stuff about planets and weather, that's what he's most interested in.

We did have a good view of the Hollywood sign, but it was too dark to get a good picture, I tried anyway. Josh wanted to drive some more in Hollywood, but the rest of us were falling asleep so we went back to the hotel so we could rest up for Disneyland the next day.

Here's what pictures I could get in the dark. I think I need a better camera. Hint, hint Josh.

This was the picture I tried to take with the Hollywood sign behind them.


This was a picture of my boys in front of the observatory and in the back of the observatory looking over Los Angeles. Jantzen was laughing because Josh had just done the ultimate "stinky" guy thing. He, he!



More to come...

My Boys With The Easter Bunny

We went shopping today to get things we needed for our camping trip this weekend and while we were there an announcement came over the intercom that the Easter Bunny was there to get pictures taken with the kids. I asked the boys if they wanted to get their picture taken and they said yes, so off we went, even though we were in a hurry. I thought Jantzen would cry and not want to be by the bunny, but he was really cool about it. They both smiled cute and everyone around loved how Jantzen was laughing to get a good smile out of himself. We did have to wait an hour for the picture to be developed, but we still had lots to do so it was fine.

I think the picture turned out pretty cute and so did the boys. HAPPY EASTER!!

No More Diapers, Yay!!

Our wallet is feeling a little lighter these days (but not for long). Jantzen finally decided, after a lot of coaxing and bribing, to go potty in the toilet like a big boy. We took treats away from him (his favorite thing to eat) and told him he could only have one if he goes potty in the toilet. We also told him we would buy him a "Tuck" the turtle from Wonder Pets (one of his favorite shows right now) and a Boba Fett costume, cuz we all know how much he loves Boba Fett. He started doing it a few weeks ago and has been doing awesome! We went to Walmart and let him pick out his new underwear. He picked out Spiderman, Iron Man, Cars, Hulk and Power Rangers. He even planned out the first week what pairs of underwear he was going to wear each day. It was really cute. He had one accident in his underwear so Josh took away his Nintendo. I guess that was a good idea because he got it back and hasn't had any accidents since. He even wakes up dry in the morning, yeah!

One thing he does that's really funny is when he goes number two. As soon as he flushes the toilet he says, "bye, bye sucka!" It's so funny! Josh and I are so glad that we don't have to change any diapers anymore , for now. Now, if we could just get him to wipe himself good enough so we don't have too.

Here is Jantzen with his "Tuck". He has to wait until closer to Halloween to get his Boba Fett costume because we can't find them right now. That's okay, he can wait until then.